Tuesday, 22 July 2014

The presence of a folk singer at a poetry festival might raise a
conservative eyebrow or two but for me it was a good and happy moment, one well
worth making the journey onto the moor. I was especially pleased, as a Folkster,
to finally see Jim Causley live. There
was a happy atmosphere among the small but comfortable crowd. It was the last
evening of the Bodmin Moor Poetry Festival and Causley played material from his
new album Cyprus Well. The album is a selection of Charles
Causley poems set to music by Jim Causley, a distant relative of the poet.

The album’s premise and process was described with charm, and you felt
an eager participant in the music. Jim Causley’s introductions to the songs
were generous and allowed unfamiliar names or phrases to become accessible to
people who may not have known the poems or the poet’s life. He regaled us with
what it was like to live and collaborate in Charles Causley’s house in
Launceston, Cyprus Well, where the album was recorded on Causley’s un-tuned
piano. The image of the folk musicians inhabiting Cyprus Well, which has been
empty for ten years, is a beguiling one. In particular, I enjoyed the idea of
singer Julie Murphy capturing Launceston church bells and surrounding bird song
on her phone. This sound effect opens the song ‘Angel Hill’ and is an
interesting added layer of understanding.

Many of Charles Causley’s poems were written in ballad form and are
perfect for being converted into folk songs. Their upbeat rhythms and recurring
choruses give a bouncy jollity to ambiguous lyrics. There are several examples
of this in folk music; ruined maids abandoned by roguish lovers (Ramble Away) and men waiting for the hangman (Prickleye Bush) are usually accompanied by upbeat rhythms and
sing-along choruses. In the pop world, the likes of Belle and
Sebastian and Beautiful South have a similarly bathetic style. You’ll be tapping
along, oblivious, until you catch just a snippet of the story.

Jim Causley’s musical settings bring a fresh insight to a poet who is
both well-known and under-appreciated. Jim Causley’s lower register has a depth and richness worthy of our surrounding moorland. He and his musical
partner, Lukas Drinkwater, bantered and engaged with the audience. There’s a rare kindness present in the elder Causley and perpetuated by
the younger. Eloquent and warm, Jim Causley was excellent company for the
evening.

Try and catch Jim and Lukas sometime this year if you can, it’s
something really special live.